That day, for once, the pain from my wounds was light from the morning. There was still some discomfort, but not enough to make me grimace. My body was finally beginning to return to normal or so I had started to delude myself, right before it happened.
My phone vibrated on the table. My fingertip trembled ever so slightly at the familiar name displayed on the screen.
It was from Tsumugi’s homeroom teacher.
“…Huh? Really?”
A little while into the conversation, I couldn’t help but raise my voice. On the other end of the phone, the teacher spoke in a calm voice. That very calmness made it feel all the more real.
“Yes. Tsumugi said she wants to go to you, Akane-san. She said it herself, of her own will.”
“I… see.”
At those words, I felt something deep in my chest loosen ever so slightly.
It wouldn’t have been strange if she had rejected me. In fact, I thought that was the more likely possibility. After all the looks she had given me, after all the words she had thrown at me.
And yet, Tsumugi had chosen me.
I was happy, that much was true. But even more than that, a sense of relief washed over me—Now, at last, I can begin to atone.
The only thing I, who survived in Shiori’s place, could do was protect Tsumugi. To give form to the wish Shiori entrusted to me at the very end, that day.
After a brief pause, the teacher said quietly, “Don’t push yourself too hard.”
That kindness made my throat grow hot again.
After ending the call, I couldn’t move for a while. Then I let out a deep, slow breath.
“…Shiori, can you hear me?”
There was no answer. But I was sure she was watching from somewhere.
That thought was the only thing that kept me standing.
◇
Sometime after that, the day finally arrived—the day Tsumugi would come to this house.
I had been restless since morning, pacing around the living room over and over, pointlessly wiping down the table, adjusting the position of the furniture.
The room Tsumugi would use as hers was the same room Shiori used to stay in when she slept over. In the closet, the pajamas she had left behind, saying she’d use them when she stayed. On the shelf, a paperback book she had been reading. In the small trinket box by the pillow, the matching keychains we bought on our school trip still remained.
Even now, the room felt thick with the lingering presence of Shiori lying there, and every time I entered, my chest tightened painfully.
I couldn’t bring myself to clear it out. Doing so would feel like a second farewell.
And so, as I carried Tsumugi’s belongings—a cardboard box likely filled with clothes and school-related items—into the room, I took deep breaths over and over.
How would Tsumugi feel in this room? Would Shiori’s traces be painful for her? Would her anger flare up again? I hoped, even just a little, that she would think, I want to be here…
Holding onto that wish, I welcomed that afternoon. Right on schedule, the intercom rang, and my heart gave a heavy thump. I steadied my breathing in front of the entrance and slowly opened the door.
Standing there was unmistakably Tsumugi. Her black hair was neatly cut at her shoulders, and she held what looked like a school bag.
But her expression wasn’t the innocent one she used to wear when smiling beside Shiori—it resembled the hatred she had directed at me during the funeral.
No… it was even darker, even deeper than back then. Her eyes were like darkness itself, reflecting nothing.
“…!”
Unconsciously, my spine trembled, and one foot retreated half a step. Even so, I held my ground and shifted my weight slightly forward.
I didn’t know if I could manage a proper smile, but I lifted the corners of my mouth a little.
“Um… I’ll be in your care from now on, Tsumugi.”
“……Hah.”
The reply was just a single word. It carried no joy, no anger, no rejection—nothing. It sounded like nothing more than a sound that had escaped her lips.
For a moment, I didn’t know how to move.
Without even glancing in my direction, Tsumugi brushed past me.
Rejection.
Of course. I had no right to think this attitude was “rude.”
“U-um, that room over there is your room, Tsumugi. Your things are already inside, and some of Shiori’s things are still there, just a few—”
Thinking I had to explain, I called out to her. But before I could finish, she entered the room and closed the door.
With a faint stir of air, the closed door remained before me. For a moment, I hesitated about offering to help her unpack, but I was sure it would only backfire.
Not a single sound came from inside. Even so, I could tell Tsumugi was in there.
Standing in front of the door, I waited a moment before speaking.
“…You haven’t had lunch yet, right? I was thinking of making something now—do you have any requests? If there’s anything you don’t like, please tell me. If anything troubles you, just say anything—”
The moment I piled on words, trying to bridge the distance, there was a small click, and the door opened just a crack. Then, from within the dark gap, eyes like darkness itself pierced straight through me.
Dragging me down, along with a bottomless emotion.
“…Anything?”
“Y-yes. Anything—”
The moment I nodded.
“Then give my sister back.”
“…! Th-that…”
My heart nearly stopped. Deep in my chest, Shiori’s voice revived.
‘Ta…ke… care… of… Tsu…mugi…’
I want to do everything I can for her. But what Tsumugi wants right now is something I can absolutely never grant. …Of course, no one could.
“Give her back. Hurry up. Give her back, give her back, give her back.”
“…I’m sorry, I can’t do that.”
All I could do was answer in a hoarse voice.
“If you can’t, then don’t say ‘anything’!!”
With a cry mixed with anger and sorrow, the door slammed shut. Though it was just a thin piece of wood, it felt as though thick walls had piled up between Tsumugi and me.
It was only then that I realized I had stopped breathing midway.
“…! Hahh…”
I frantically sucked in air. My chest hurt. My throat grew hot. My eyes threatened to blur.
—But I won’t cry. If I cry here, my heart will surely break.
“Shiori, I’ll do my best.”
My voice fell into the empty hallway. My steps as I returned to the living room were slightly unsteady.
If I didn’t swear to the girl I loved, if I didn’t remember the wish entrusted to me at the very end, my heart felt like it would shatter into pieces.